Ok, so bear with me here. I’m currently a freshman in high school but a lot of my junior and senior friends have said that they took a while to choose which college they wanted to go to. I’ve actually been thinking about colleges for a while and I have a whole list of potential colleges for me. So, if any of you guys have attended or visited these colleges or know anything about them, please let me know so that it will make my choice easier. Ok, so here are my choices:
1.) University of Notre Dame
2.) University of Arizona
3.) University of Michigan
4.) University of California, Los Angeles
5.) University of Hawaii at Manoa
6.) Oxford University
7.) Pennsylvania State University
8.) University of Alabama
9.) Florida State University
10.) Ohio State University
I know there’s a lot but any information on any of these schools would be great, thanks.
Only in March of senior year, with acceptances in hand, do you have an actual choice to make. Some of the colleges on the above list are very competitive for admission.
Each college has a website with lots and lots of information. Each college also has a subforum here at College Confidential where you can read to learn more about them.
When you apply in fall of senior year, you will make a list of reaches, matches and safeties. The list will be based on a number of factors, such as cost, geography, setting, size, quality of programs, how your academic qualifications fit the college, and how well other, non-academic attributes of you fit.
Keep your grades up. Keep reading about different types of colleges and majors. Talk with your parents about paying for college, what they can afford, and keep in mind that each college has a Net Price Calculator on its website to help estimate financial aid.
You aren’t deciding where to go at all now. You need to make a list of where to apply, probably in junior year once you have a better idea of your GPA, standardized test scores, academic interests, and what your parents can/will pay for. Right now it is a waste of time.
Get good grades and dig into ECs that you really enjoy, inside or outside of school.
When you are starting junior year, get a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and read up on schools. That will help you think about where to visit & maybe apply. But right now, it is just daydreaming.
Ask your parents to get you the shiny, new Fiske guide to colleges that comes out in July. We’re going to preorder one off Amazon. My daughter just finished her freshman year as well and became very interested in researching colleges this year as her brother went through the application process. Be sure not to fall in love with any one school unless you find it to be affordable and easy to gain admission. From your list above, I know Arizona and Hawaii are easier to gain admission. If you are in the western part of the US, look up WUE schools that have tuition discounts for residents of western states. Many public schools have insanely high out of state (OOS) tuition for non residents. The UC’s are probably the best example, charging non residents an extra $30000 per year. People will tell you it’s too early to start looking, but it’s good to be excited! Don’t become obsessed or stress out, and have fun doing your research!
I highly recommend reading an Insider’s Guide to Colleges. There are a number of them out there. Each school has its own culture and you won’t be able to make a good choice until you know more about the schools. In addition, the website, Niche, has some good information and statistics. Good luck with your search!
Ask your parents now what the budget is for college and how much your family can pay each year, some of those schools have hefty OOS price tags with no aid given. It’ll be easier that way to narrow your search.
That is a very diverse list. How did you choose those particular schools?
Window shopping is great- but as others have pointed out:
- no point falling in love now: it’s 2+ years until you actually apply. Do you remember in grade 7 what you thought you would be like in HS? well, you will change at least as much between now and when you apply as you have changed since then. One of my collegekids was like you, and started college shopping in grade 9. By spring of grade 11, after many, many college visits and college fairs and hours of online shopping, etc., she finally settled on a final, definite list (including an ED choice). And yet, just 5 months later, when she actually started submitting applications, her list had changed completely.
and
- first thing: have the money talk with your parents. Truly, you cannot imagine how many ways college choices go wrong b/c of money. You need to know what the budget really is. All but 2 of the colleges on your list are state (public) universities, and you are obviously out of state for all but one (max 2) of them. $$ will matter.
Finally, if you are seriously interested in going to the UK, spend some time on the UK university websites- there is a lot of info available online. Both the admissions and the academic experience are wildly different than the US. Expect to spend ~$45-50K/pa, and no form of financial or merit aid (except ~$5K/pa in FAFSA loans).
You have 2 1/2 years before you even have to start thinking about that. When you’re a teenager, that’s basically an eternity. Get As and go have fun doing teenager stuff! Just don’t blow anything up.
I’ve always wanted to go to a big school somewhere far from my home state in new england. Most of these schools are pretty big while others are school where my friends or family have gone to and they’ve said they really like the school.
I like U of AL (but it’s the only one on your list I know firsthand…briefly attended as a masters of fine arts student!). Pretty campus. Denny Chimes. Lots of trees. Lots of neo-Georgian buildings. Tuscaloosa is a fun town and is part of twin cities/towns: Tuscaloosa-Northport. Northport should still have “City Diner,” where you can get the authentic “meat and three.”
Don’t know if you care about football, but even though a lot of your listed U’s are big time sports schools, U of AL is currently enjoying arguably the greatest run in college football history (especially when parity and level of competition is considered). That’s nothing to sneeze at. Of course, ND, UMich, and Ohio S have strong programs, too.
U of AL also actively seeks OOS students, aiming for 50/50 IS/OOS. If your grades/test scores are high, AL also offers significant merit to OOS students.
The proper question is which schools should I apply to. I think over the next couple of years you should go visit or look into a number of different types of schools. Big, medium, small, rural, urban, college town, state school, private etc. See what seems to interest you the most. Once you begin to get a feel for the type of school you like, perhaps what you want to study what your parents can contribute to your education come back to CC and perhaps we can help given the parameters you’ve given us. Enjoy HS, do well and you’ll have tremendous options.
It is way too early to think about specific colleges. You just have one full year’s GPA and you have no standardized testing. You also need to recognize that: 1) HS should be an experience in and of itself – a time of learning and growth and not just a 4 year college application prep experience and 2) your ideas of what you want in a college may change as you mature, further define your interests etc.
It is good to take school seriously and know that college will be on your horizon, but it is too early to start planning for specific colleges. I would highly recommend that you get off of CC until your junior year.
For now you should focus on:
–Working hard, learning, and doing as well as you can in the most challenging curriculum you can manage.
–When the time comes study for standardized tests.
–Continue your involvement in activities you care about and work towards making meaningful contributions to those activities.
–Enjoying spending time with your family and friends.
When the time comes (junior year) asses your academic stats (including GPA, standardized tests, course rigor) as well as your financial needs and apply to a wide range of reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (you will have to run a net price calculator for each school you consider) and that you would be happy to attend. There are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life.